Method for making a reinforced concrete structure



All@ 3, 1965 H. B. FEHLMANN ETAL 3,197,964

METHOD FOR MAKING A REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE Filed DEC. 21, 1960 2Sheets-'Sheet l H531 /2 lll (e, /1

\ l V l 8 \8 `l+ a I+ a Fll- A12 II will 1Q: ml

\8 L11 a `s ks H65 (13 112 I3 (g Il 6 lL/LT- il He 7 s G7 ,f1 SMX @l l ll T-T-Tw TTT-'V7 3 :i EE W J r I 1 i F* INVENTORS Hans Beat Fehlmann andHax R. Schaub Wzl/vu Zr-P/ aff/,L

Aug- 3, 1965 H. B. FEHLMANN ETAL 3,197,964

METHOD FOR MAKING A REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 21, 1960 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I f n n Q /v/ INVENTORS Hans Beat Fehlmagg andHaxR.Schaub m M ZV1-f f/r- United States Patent O 3,97,964 METHOD FRMAKEN@ A REWFRCED CONCRETE STRUCTURE Hans Beat Pohlmann, Klausstrasse43, Zurich 34, Switzerland, and Max R. Schaub, Bern, Switzerland; saidSchaub assigner to said Fehlmann Filed Dee. 2l, 1960, Ser. No. 77,405Claims priorita* appiicatiou Switzeriand, Dec. 24, 1959,

82,295 v 4 Claims. (Cl. 61-35) The present invention relates to a methodfor making a reinforced concrete structure consisting of columnshapedparts butting each other across vertical joints, in which individualparts butting each other are concreted one after another up to fullheight in spaces provided with a reinforcement and, as far as necessary,defined by sheathing means.

With this manner of construction where the individual column-shapedparts are concreted up to fuli height lateral forms or sheathings are tobe provided in the spaces or cavities in the areas of the joints of thecompleted structure. If the concrete structure was to be made in atrench-shaped cavity, in prior methods iron pipes have been lowered intothe cavity at both ends thereof to form lateral sheathings whereupon thecolumn-shaped structure-part has been concreted up to full heightbetween these two sheathings of pipes. A considerable disadvantage ofsuch a procedure resides in the fact that the reinforcement of theindividual column-shaped `structureparts can only extend to the pipesheathings so that a subsequent establishment of a force-transferringbond between reinforcements of adjacent column-shaped parts is notpossible because after the removal of the pipesheathing a reinforcementcan be brought only into the `adjacent zone of the cavity. Thereinforcement extends only to the lateral Walls of a structure-part andcan, therefore, in no Way be connected in a force-transferring mannerwith the reinforcement completely inside a previously erectedstructure-part. Therefore, with prior methods it Was impossible toobtain a reinforcement -actingcon- ,tinuously through the entire lengthof the erected concrete structure, that is, a force-transferring bondindispensibie for getting high resistance and strength.

The invention aims at a method allowing to, obtain a concrete structureof any length desired which comprises individual column-shaped parts anda reinforcement which is uninterruptedly effective through the entirelength of the structure. The method according to the invention ischaracterized in that at least across joints of the oompleted structuresheathing means are used through which no concrete can escape butthrough which parts of the reinforcement project so that reinforcementparts pass through the joints. As sheathing means preferably nettings orgrids of yieldable materials such as, for instance, wire netting,perforated sheet metal or the like are used, the mesh aperture of whi-chis chosen in such a way that the reinforcing rods may pass through themeshes, while the concrete mixture cannot escape through the meshes.Because the sheathing has to stand the whole or a considerable part ofthe `hydrostatic pressure of the filled-in concrete, it is preferablygiven the shape of a cylindri-cally closed basket, since Wire netting,for instance, can practically only be subjected to pulling and not tobending forces. Individual cylindrical sheathing baskets can beconnected with their respective reinforcement and afterwards inserted asassemblies at the desired places of the building site and then filledwith concrete.

The method according to the invention offers special advantages whenmaking concrete structures in trenchor shaft-shaped cavities, Where thecavity is excavated under permanent filling with bentonite. Thesheathing ICC and reinforcement are inserted into the cavity filled withbentonite, and 4inally the concrete is brought in. Apart from thewell-known advantages of the bentonite-method on making a cavity, theadditional advantage is offered in connection with the present inventionthat the bentonite liquid .outside the sheathing produces a certainhydrostatic counter-pressure to the hydrostatic pressure of the concretecharge in the sheathing so that a relatively Weak sheathing, such as,for instance, the above-mentioned wire netting offers suiiicientresistance.

The structure made according to the invention has a reinforcement thatis in a force-transferring bond over he entire length of the structureand is characterized in that each column-shaped structure part definedby Vertical joints has an individual reinforcement, each point beingtraversed by the reinforcement of the structure part While, on the otherside of the joint, this reinforcement is in force-transferring bond withthe reinforcement of the adjacent structure part.

With reference to the drawings an embodiment of the method according tothe invention and an example of the structure made accordingv to thismethod Will now be described.

FIGS. l to 6 schematically illustrate a construction in various stagesof the method, and

FIGS. 7 to 9 show individual parts of the structure on a larger scale. i

In the embodiment described and illustrated a trenchshaped cavity of anydesired depth and of the total length shown in FIG. 6 is to be filledover its entire length with concrete by means of the method according tothe invention, whereby the horizontal reinforcement of the filled-inconcrete structure, such as, for instance, a foundation is in acontinuous force-transferring bonding condition along the whole length.To achieve lthis aim, at first a shallow channel l (FIG. 7) is dug alongthe whole length ofthe construction site, said channel serving a purposewhich will be described later on. Afterwards and as shown in FIG. l twocavities 2 and 3 are excavated, the length lof'which may, for instance,amount to 2.5 meters. However, other suitable lengths of the cavitiessuch as, for instance, 0.6 to 6 meters may be chosen, Between the twocavities Z and 3 there remains a web 4 of about the same length as thecavities 2 and 3. During their excavation the cavities 2 and 3 arepermanently filled in a wellknown manner with bentonite liquid or thelike for the purpose of preventing the Walls of the cavities fromcaving-in, avoiding in this way any special strutting of the walls. Oncethe cavities 2 and 3 having been completed, reinforcing grids consistingof horizontal rods 5 and vertical rods 6 (FIG. 8) are inserted intothese cavities. Before inserting a reinforcing grid 5, 6 into a cavity ahose-shaped Wire netting '7 is connected with the grid 4, 6, the meshaperture of said netting being chosen so that the horizontal reinforcingrods 5 can pass through and project beyond the meshes of the netting 7in longitudinal direction of the trench-shaped cavity 2 or 3respectively (FIG. 8), While the concrete to be subsequently filled intothe basket hose constituted by the wire netting 7 can, in general, notescape through the Wire netting 7 to the outside. As an example, themesh aperture of the Wire netting 7 preferably amounts to about 15 to 20millimeters 4and the netting must, of course, be rather strong in orderto withstand the hydrostatic pressure of the concrete which willsubsequently be poured. As mentioned above, the wire netting 7 isconnected with the reinforcing grid 5, 6 prior to the lowering of thelatter into the cavity 2 and 3 respectively. The Wire netting 7 must beshifted toward the ends of the horizontal reinforcing rods 5 before thevertical rods 6 remaining outside the wire netting are fixed to the rods5. The procedure of connecting the wire netting 7 with the grid 5, 6may, for instance, be executed as follows: After having assembled thegrid 5, 6 with the exception that those vertical rods 6 which are to lieoutside the netting 'i are not fixed, Vand individual sheet of wirenetting is shifted toward either end of the rods 5. Afterwards, the twonetting sheets are bent around the vertical rods 6 and their adjacentedges connected with each other so that a hose 7 su-ch as shown in FIG.8 in dotted lines is formed. Then, the vertical rods 6 which are to lieoutside the hose 7 are fixed to the horizontal rods 5. The rods 5 of thegrid may be fixed to the rods 6 in any suitable manner, for instance, bymeans of wires, clamps or by welding. Another pnocedure of connectingthe wire netting 7 with the grid 5, 6 would be first to complete thehose-shaped wire netting 7, then to bring the individual rods 5 and 6into the position shown in FIG. 8 with regard to the nettingV 7, andfinally to iix the rods 5 and 6 to one another for forming thereinforcing grid. The grids S, 6 must have suii'icient strength to allowtransportation of the assembled grid and netting to the cavi- .ties 2and 3 and lowering the assembly into the cavities. Once each of thecavities 2 and 3 is equipped with its individual grid 5, 6 combined-witha wire netting '7, conlcreting may begin. This is performed aswell-known in connection with the bentonite-method by lowering a hose ortube into the space surrounded by the wire netting 7 and by subsequentlypouring the concrete through said hose or tube down to the bottom of thecavity 2 and 3 respectively. within the form or sheathing 7, theconcrete column being built up to the total desired height (FIG. 7), andbeing designated 8 in FIGS. 2, 7 and 9. The individual cornpletedcon-crete columns 8 are provided with a reinforcement consisting :ofhorizontal and vertical rods and, since the length of the individualcolumns 8 in the longitudinal direction of the structure is defined bythe Wire netting basket 7, the horizontal reinforcing rods 5 projectfrom the columns 8 in said longitudinal direction (FIG. 9).

Simultaneously with the insertion into the cavities 2 and 3 of thereinforcing grids 5, 6 combined with netting 7 and the pouring ofconcrete, other cavities 9 and it) are excavated (FIG. 2). Bentoniteyliquid, expelled from the ycavities 2 and 3 due to the concreting in thelatter ows through the shallow channel 1 into the nascent cavities 9 and1t) so that a continuous procedure s possible without loss in bentonite.The cavities 9 and l@ are separated from each other and from the cavity3 by webs whose length is equal to the length of the web between thecavities 2 and 3. Once the cavities 9 and l@ having been excavated theyare each provided with a Vreinforcing grid combined with a wire nettingin the manner described with respect to the cavities 2 and 3, .andafterwards concrete is brought into the cavities 9 and llt) in a similarWay. Thus, in the cavities 9 and 1t) there are also individual concretedcolumns 8 formed (FIG. 3). During concreting in the cavities 9 and liti,the web d between the cavities 2 and 3 may be excavated; in FIG. 3 thisweb appears already removed. Between the two concrete columns 8 erectedin the original cavities -ing to FIG. 5 the space between the columns 8of the original cavities 2 and 3 has completely been filled withconcrete, a continuous section `of the concrete structure .has beenproduced, thi-s section consisting of two column pieces d and anintermediate piece i3, each two adjacent pieces engaging each otheracross vertical joints substantially dened by the netting 7 of thecolumns 3. In

other words, the wire nettings 7 lie in the joints, which In this way, aconcrete column is formed results in an advantageous stitlening andstrengthening of these joints. At the joints the reinforcing grids 5, 6and il, l2 overlap each other within the intermediate concrete piece 13so that through the overlapping horizontal rods 5 and ll and through theconcrete of the piece i3 surrounding the rods 5 and 1l a transfer offorces is possibly to such an extent as if there were a continuoushorizontal reinforcement or armor extending uninterruptedly through allthe three pieces 8, 13 and 8. It is understood that the outer ends ofthe horizontal reinforcing rods 5 and/'or il may be bent or otherwiseformed in any well-known manner in order to increase their hold in theconcrete.

During concreting of the piece i3, the remaining webs 4 between thecavities 3 and 9 and 9 and 1t) can be excavated (FIG. 4), whereuponreinforcing grids il, l2 are inserted in the newly excavated cavitiesand these sections concreted. In this way, the continuous concretestructure shown in FG. 6 is finally completed, this concrete structureconsisting of individual, column-shaped sections which engage each otheracross vertical joints and are stiffened by a continuous horizontalreinforcing structure.

As may easily be seen in FIGS. l to 6 the reinforcing grids of thecolumns S do not extend to the end walls of the cavities Z, 3, 9 andit). This is because some space must be available on the sides of therespective grids for subsequently removing the webs d. As can be seenfrom FfGS. 3 and 4, it thus happens that starting with equal lengths thecavities 2, 3, 9 and 1t) and the webs 4 of the columns S become in theend substantially shorter than the columns i3. If it is desired that allthe concrete columns of the structure have the same length, the cavities2, 3, 9 and l@ must be made longer than the remaining webs l in order toobtain columns and 13 of equal length in the completed structure.

From the foregoing description it also clearly follows that the formingor sheathing baskets 7 are so-called lost forms which remain in thecompleted structure. Therefore, it is important to use relatively cheapmaterial for the basket 7 such as, for instance, commercial Wirenetting. Such lost forms can be avoided by laterally connecting with thereinforcing grids 5, 6 removable shutterpl-ates having perforations forthe passage of the horizontal rods 5 of the reinforcing grids 5, 6 andwhich after completion of the columns 8 can be laterally drawn off thereinforcing rods 5 for repeated use. In such a case the vertical rods 6of the grids 5, 6 lying outside the columns 8 (FIG. 9) cannot be broughtinto place and fixed to the end of the rods 5 beforeI the shutter-plateshave been drawn off the rods 5. Furthermore, in order to have asufiicient number of vertical rods 12 of the grids lil, 12 within theareas of tie overlapping portions of adjacent grids, it is recommendedto fix vertical rods l2 also to the inner side of the horizontal rods f1within t-he overlapping reach. Such removable shutter-plates,

which may, for instance, be made of timber or metal,

will especially be suitable where absolutely even or particularly shapedjoints between the individual parts of the structure are required.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference toa few embodiments thereof, it will be understood that other embodimentsmay be resorted to without departing from the invention. Therefore, thedescription of the invention set out above should be considered asillustrative and not `as limiting the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

il. A method for making a reinforced concrete structure of column-shapedparts engaging each other across substantially vertical joints, forminga longitudinally extending trench-like excavation, inserting at leasttwo first reinforcing means in .said excavation at a distance from eachother, inserting at least two sheathing means in said excavation, eachof said sheathing means to extend approximateiy coaxiaily with one ofsaid first reinforcing means and to define a column-shaped space, eachof said sheathing means having a longitudinal extension smaller thanthat of the respective iirst reinforcing means, having each :of saidfirst reinforcing means extend longitudinally at both ends beyond therespective sheathing means, lling each of said sheathing means withconcrete for forming 4at least two spaced column-shaped concrete parts,inserting second reinforcing means into the space in said excavationbetween said column-shaped concrete parts in an overlapping relationshipwith said iirst reinforcing means, and iling said space between saidconcrete parts with concrete to form a further concrete part.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said firstreinforcing means is assembled prior to its insertion in said excavationwith one `of said sheathing means, and is inserted .in said excavationtogether with said one sheathing means as an assembly.

3. in the method according to claim 1, forming at least two spacedportions of said excavation first, inserting one of said firstreinforcing means and one of said sheathing means in each of said spacedportions, iiiling each inserted sheathing means with concrete to form acolumn-shaped concrete part, forming the remaining portion of saidexcavation between the column-shaped parts, inserting said secondreinforcing means in said remaining portion, and lling said remainingportions with concrete, thus forming said further concrete part.

4. In the method according to claim 3, filling said spaced portions withbentonite liquid prior t0 inserting therein said rst reinforcing meansand said sheathing means and prior to lling said sheathing means withconcrete, displacing said bentonite liquid from said spaced portionswhile pouring concrete into said spaced portions, iiowing said bentoniteliquid into said remaining portion prior to inserting said secondreinforcing means in, and prior to pouring concrete into, said remainingportion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 842,552 1/07Jackson 6l-39 1,474,195 1 1/ 23 Langworthy 61-39 1,653,055 12/ 27Macomber 50-489 1,747,038 2/30 Weber 61-59 1,829,463 10/ 31 Weber 61-591,885,731 11/32 Kraus. 2,048,252 7/ 3 6 Frankignoul 61-59 2,192,509 3/40 Simpson 61-59 2,791,886 5/57 Veder 61--31 3,091,938 6/63 Schnabel61-5 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,080,764 6/ 54 France.

493,806 10/ 3 8 Great Britain.

605,212 7/ 48 Great Britain.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

WILLTAM I. MUSHAKE, HENRY C. SUTHERLAND,

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiners.

1. A METHOD FOR MAKING A REINFORCED CONCREATE STRUCTURE OF COLUMN-SHAPEDPARTS ENGAGING EACH OTHER ACROSS SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL JOINS, FORMING ALONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING TRENCH-LIKE EXCAVATION, INSERTING AT LEAST TWOFIRST REINFORCING MEANS IN SAID EXCAVATION AT A DISTANCE FROM EACHOTHER, INSERTING AT LEAST TWO SHEATHING MEANS IN SAID EXCAVATION, EACHOF SAID SHEATHING MEANS TO EXTEND APPROXIMATELY COAXIALLY WITH ONE OFSAID FIRST REINFORCING MEANS AND TO DEFINE A COLUMN-SHAPED SPACE, EACHOF SAID SHEATING MEANS HAVING A LONGITUDINAL EXTENSION SMALLER THAN THATOF THE REPSECTIVE FIRST REINFORCING MEANS, HAVING EACH OF SAID FIRSTREINFORCING MEANS EXTEND LONGITUDINALLY AT BOTH END BEYOND THERESPECTIVE SHEATHING MEANS, FILLING EACH OF SAID SHEATHING MEANS WITHCONCRETE FOR FORMING AT LEAST TWO SPACED COLUMN-SHAPED CONCREATE PARTS,INSERTING SECOND REINFORCING MEANS INTO THE SPACE IN SAID EXCAVATIONBETWEEN SAID COLUMN-SHAPED CONCRETE PARTS IN AN OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIPWITH SAID FIRST REINFORCING MEANS, AND FILLING SAID SPACE BETWEEN SAIDCONCRETE PARTS WITH CONCRETE TO FORM A FURTHER CONCRETE PART.